Graham Crackers
by Renkhal
Summary: Maura talks about the history of graham crackers.


**So... anytime I hear a reference to graham crackers I laugh. A lot.**

**I blame my brother.**

**Anyways, knowing what I do about graham crackers (which Maura mentions for me in paragraph two) I just couldn't hold in the need to write a story about them.**

**This is post 3x03, but there's really not much else mentioned regarding the episode beyond graham crackers.**

**I hope you enjoy this short glimpse into the wrongness of my amazing mind.**

* * *

Jane was nibbling on a graham cracker, her eyes red and itchy from the crying but no longer filled with tears as she sat on Maura's couch. Her best friend was sitting next to her, also nibbling on a graham cracker. And then Maura smirked, no longer having to hold in the Google that was fighting its way out since Jane had stopped crying.

"Did you know graham crackers were invented to keep young adults from masturbating?" Maura asked, her eyes twinkling with mischief. Jane coughed around a rather large bite of her cracker and turned to the blond, eyes wide. She then looked at the two empty boxes in front of them on the coffee table and then the one open box between them. Granted, she had eaten the majority of them, but…

"Er…"

"Kellogg invented corn flakes for the same reason. It was believed that by eating bland foods that humans wouldn't feel the need to express their carnal urges, especially for young adults with not just masturbation but also premarital sex."

"That's… nice…" Jane commented, suddenly not interested in eating more graham crackers. Just knowing they had some sort of relation to the act of masturbation was kind of disturbing to the detective. "I guess it's safe to say we're safe from carnal urges tonight, huh."

Maura laughed but said nothing.

"Wait, why do you have so many boxes of graham crackers stashed away then? Aren't you all for expressing your 'carnal urges' and all that?"

Maura's smile was almost shy despite the teasing look in her eyes. "Studies have shown that the belief isn't necessarily false, and so when I have no proper outlet for my… carnal urges, or when I find myself… in the middle of a fantasy that wouldn't be right, I do tend to snack on graham crackers. If nothing else, they prove to be a healthy distraction from those fantasies."

Jane snorted with amusement. "What kind of fantasy could you not want to experience fully, even if it's only in your head?" The extended silence from the other side of the couch made Jane frown and look over at the doctor. "Maura?"

"Fantasies aren't wrong, no matter the content," Maura finally started. "However, certain… elements in my fantasies just don't feel… proper."

"What, do you have fantasies where you're bound up and cut open?" Jane asked before frowning. How the hell did she come up with that?

Maura shook her head, a light chuckle escaping her lips. "I don't personally have fantasies like that, but if someone else did and had a willing partner, and the act didn't end in death from one way or another, then I don't see a problem with it. But, no, the fantasies that I won't indulge in don't necessarily include odd fetishes such as that one."

"Then what's the problem?"

Maura bit her lower lip, eyes cast down and away from Jane even as she stayed sitting with excellent posture, though she did seem a lot tenser all of a sudden.

Jane sighed. "Look, you don't gotta tell me. I can totally understand; they're your fantasies. Most people don't talk about those kinds of things with anyone other than the one they want to fulfill them."

"That is a very good point," Maura stated before sighing. "But if that were the case here, then there is definitely no reason to not tell you."

Confused, Jane frowned and thought that statement over. Maura, who hoped against all odds that Jane wouldn't put it together, shifted a little – the only outward sign of exactly just how uncomfortable she was with the silence.

When realization dawned on Jane, Maura watched her facial features. First her eyes widened and mouth dropped in surprise, then her eyes furrowed and her mouth twisted into contemplation, and finally her face settled into a smirk.

"Well, damn, Doctor Isles. Do you fantasy about me doing naughty things often?" Jane teased.

Maura frowned. "I don't see how this is so amusing."

Jane chuckled. "Come on, it's a little funny, you gotta admit. You fantasize about me, and given you're statement you'd have no problem acting those fantasies out, which means you want to have sex with me."

"And your point is…?"

Jane grinned and winked. "You told me a lie a while back, when we were in Giovanni's Alpha."

Maura frowned, confused, until she realized just what Jane was referring to. "Oh, right… Well, in my defense, despite wanting to have sex with you I didn't really want to have sex with you."

"Maura… Come on, that makes no sense!"

"If I hadn't thought that it could potentially ruin our friendship, I would have said yes to that question. Because I was afraid saying that and then having sex would in fact ruin our friendship, something I didn't want, the answer was truthfully that I didn't want to have sex with you. I didn't want to lose you."

Jane nodded and leaned back into the couch comfortably. "I guess that makes sense." She looked thoughtful again. "And what about not being your type?"

Maura laughed. "Jane, I make it a point not to date coworkers. You're a coworker, so that's one thing that makes you not my type. You don't come from money, which is something that is expected to be one of the criteria for my type, and though I don't always exercise that criteria it does tend to be one of the things that I unconsciously factor in with dates purely because of my social upbringing. I don't like to admit that I've had that kind of prejudice when it comes to my potential mates, but it is still there."

"Well, I could see why you'd want someone with money," Jane said, looking around. "I mean, you're used to the finer things in life, and a common person like me definitely couldn't afford to give you those things on a regular basis."

Maura nodded. "While that is true, I don't particularly care about a person's financial worth. The issue of money stems more from my desire for my parents' approval than any of my own personal desires."

"That makes a lot more sense to me," Jane said with a grin. "I had really been struggling to see you as a gold digger."

"Jane!" Maura scolded her even as she laughed. "I can't believe you would even think that of me at all."

"I said I'd been struggling!" Jane defended even as she laughed with her.

After a half minute of laughing, they calmed and sat in silence for a minute before Jane sighed and started cleaning up.

"Jane?"

"I'm letting everything soak in, Maura. Don't worry, I'm not going to leave and never talk to you again just because you want to sleep with me," Jane assured her. Maura nodded, biting her lower lip again. Jane noticed and paused. "There's more, isn't there?"

"I…" Maura started before trailing off and nodding. "Jane, remember when I told you I liked Tommy but I loved you?"

Jane nodded. "Yeah, how could I forget? I was so happy you weren't going to pursue Tommy, even though I'd swallowed my pride and gave you the go-ahead."

"I do love you, Jane," Maura said softly.

"Yeah, I love you too," Jane said. A split second later, it clicked and Jane emitted a low "oh" before humming with contemplation. "You didn't mean that you loved me in a platonic way, huh."

"No, Jane…" Maura admitted almost quietly. Jane quickly dropped the items in her hands on the counter and crossed the room and sat next to Maura, putting a hand on hers.

"That's okay, Maura. I am beyond okay with that," Jane said with a smile, using her other hand to cup Maura's cheek and force eye contact. "You wanna know why?" Maura nodded. "Because the reason I got so pissed about you and my brother was because if you wanted a Rizzoli I wanted it to be me."

Maura's face lit up so fast that Jane barely got a glimpse of it before she was tackled into a kiss. Jane smirked as she pushed back against Maura's lips, returning the kiss with just as much fervor.

They separated to catch their breath, and Maura's smile turned mischievous. "Do you think the graham crackers are working, or would you like to test a theory with me?"

Jane chuckled. "Let's test a theory," she mumbled before catching Maura's lips in another kiss.


End file.
